Complete with in-depth analysis that helped me to achieve full marks on the relevant comparative essay, and ultimately full marks in the A-Level exam itself (June 2022). Alongside close reading applies a range of critical perspectives (eg Marxism, postcolonialism etc) to enable alternative readings.
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A/AS Level
PEARSON (PEARSON)
English Literature 2015
Unit 3 - Poetry
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The Gun
Vicki Feaver
Normally, a house is a place of safety, respite and warmth; the gun
Bringing a gun into a house destabilises this, making it more threatening. The absence of the active
subject (‘bringing’) universalises the threat posed by the gun – anyone
changes it. can be oppressed or abused from a feminist perspective. Alternatively,
this could suggest that we do not have autonomy over the id.
You lay it on the kitchen table, The clipped line and enjambment enact a sense of fear and tension, creating
a sense of abruptness which renders the eponymous gun more threatening.
stretched out like something dead The of the pronoun ‘it’ creates an ambiguity around whether the house or
the gun changes, furthering this sense of suspense.
itself: the grainy polished wood stock
jutting over the edge, This line renders the speaker passive, creating a sense of inexorability. The
‘kitchen table’ is usually a symbol of warmth and domesticity; this is
the long metal barrel subverted by the alien, invasive gun.
casting a grey shadow
The verb ‘stretched’ personifies the gun as something relaxed and at ease.; it
on the green-checked cloth. dominates the domestic setting. However, the lexical choice ‘dead’
emphasises how the gun does not possess intrinsic power; it must be wielded
by someone. The pronoun ‘itself’ personifies the gun, and the enjambment
The ‘green-checked’ cloth is a feminine emphasises is significance and how it cannot go unnoticed.
symbol of innocence and domestic
warmth, starkly contrasting with the
The adjective ‘grainy’ suggests the impurity of the gun and how it
threatening ‘grey shadow’. The cloth is
metaphorically taints the house. That it is ‘polished’ insinuates the
something passive and immobile, whereas
speaker’s fascination with it: they are absorbed by the eponymous gun. The
the shadow is ephemeral and likely to
phonetically harsh verb ‘jutting’ suggests the invasiveness of the gun and its
develop into something more overtly
transgression of boundaries. The ‘edge’ of the table can be read as a
harmful.
metaphor for the boundaries of societal norms; therefore, that the gun – a
metonym for the male figure – protrude slightly over it implies that, at first,
his transgressions are trivial, perhaps minor instances of physical abuse.
We might read the ‘long metal barrel’ as a phallic symbol for male
At first it’s just practice:
dominance and masculinity. The spectral image of a ‘grey shadow’
perforating tins suggests that the male figure is at this point a liminal threat; however, the
noun shadow implies his latent capacity for malevolence and destruction.
dangling on orange string
from trees in the garden. The temporal phrase ‘at first’ is ominous and adumbrates more overt,
threatening acts of violence. There is a clear transition in the subjects of
Then a rabbit shot the violence – the ‘tins’ are something empty and insentient, and the verb
‘perforating’ suggests the gun is merely making punctures rather than
clean through the head.
destroying the tins. The ‘orange string’ is an image of vibrance and a
transferred epithet for the ironic excitement using the gun creates. This
sense of irony is furthered by the contrast of the mechanical gun to the
Soon the fridge fills with creatures organic setting, adding to the alien and invasive nature of the gun.
that have run and flown.
This blunt, unadorned declarative is unexpected and stark, and marks a
transition from the latent power of the gun to its ability to abruptly end
life. The adjective ‘clean’ is ironic, suggesting the act of violence is an
achievement or something to be proud of.
The use of the present tense emphasises the ongoing excess of the violence. The
alliterative ‘fridge fills’ enacts this sense of excess, indulgence and superfluous
killing – clearly, it is a sport rather than serving the functional purpose of nourishing.
The past participles ‘run and flown’ (contrast to present) emphasise how agency and
freedom has been removed.
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